1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in a transportation and storage system for a recreational vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Most storage and transportation systems for recreational vehicles involve storing the recreational vehicle in a horizontal orientation. This usually involves stacking the recreational vehicles or nesting them to reduce the storage space. Several products and patents have been issued on storage or transportation systems for recreational vehicles. Exemplary examples of patents covering these products are disclosed herein.
U.S. Pat. No. RE39,646 issued May 22, 2007 to Gilbert L. Dehl, U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,613 issued Nov. 16, 1999 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,763 issued Oct. 6, 1998 to Bernard j. Hamann et al., disclose inventions where the vehicle is moved or driven onto a platform and the platform lifts the vehicle off the ground such that the vehicle remains in essentially the same orientation. While these patents provide a lifting mechanism they do not provide for storage of the recreational vehicle in a smaller area. This patent does not.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,243 issued Nov. 26, 2002, U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,564 issued Oct. 10, 1995 to Thomas R. Bianchini and U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,395 issued Aug. 17, 1999 to John W. Dumont Jr., provide pivoting platforms where the recreational vehicle is picked up and rotates from the ground to the storage location. While this provides a transportation method for the recreational vehicle, the recreational vehicle is not stored in a vertical orientation where the storage or transportation takes less space. This patent does not.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,334,184 issued Mar. 18, 2008 to Christopher Salvador et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,762 issued Sep. 10, 1996 to Charles Brown and U.S. Pat. No. 7,455,489 issued Nov. 25, 2008 to Kurt Klev et al., disclose ramps where the recreational vehicle is driven onto the ramps to store the vehicle onto or within the bed or back of a larger transportation vehicle. While these patents again cover transportation of the recreational vehicle they also do not provide a smaller storage area and they can use valuable space.
What is needed is a storage and lifting mechanism where the vehicle is lifted into from a horizontal to a vertical orientation onto a vertically mounted ramp that reduces the amount of area where the recreational vehicle is stored. The vehicle can be stored in a vertical orientation on a garage wall or the rear of a travel trailer.